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NYITCOM Opened Its Doors in 1977
October 23, 2015
Nelson Rockefeller and his physician W. Kenneth Riland, D.O., saw the need for an osteopathic medical school in New York and used their influence to found the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. The college's inaugural class included 36 medical students; at the time, it was the first and only osteopathic medical school in New York.
Many prominent supporters of NYITCOM attended the college's first medical convocation in 1977. They included Rockefeller, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Murray Goldstein, D.O., who eventually became assistant surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service. One year later, the NYIT community celebrated the opening of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Academic Center.
The need for physicians to serve New York communities is just as urgent today as it was 38 years ago. Read more in NYIT Magazine about how NYITCOM prepares future primary care physicians.
This content is part of The Box's "60 Years in 60 Days" series in celebration of NYIT's 60th anniversary in 2015.
